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Connecting batteries in series without wasting the mAh? Answered

Okay, if you connect two 1.5v 1000mAh AA batteries in parallel, you'll get 1.5v 2000mAh, right? And if you connect two 1.5v 1000mAh AA batteries in parallel, you'll get 3v 1000mAh, still correct? What if you connect seven 1.5v 1000mAh AA batteries in parrallel and one 1.5v 1000mAh AA battery in series, you SHOULD get 3v 7000mAh, will that work?

3 Replies

No......And Always keep supplies balanced. To function properly either in parallel or series the power supplies ie batteries must match identically. It is not even recommended to mix and match brands even if the numbers match as far as ratings go. And some will go further and not even mix different lot numbers especially when dealing with automotive or deep cycle batteries for power storage systems.

Bad idea. Best to keep the numbers symmetrical. That is, if you have N batteries in series and you want to double (for instance) the voltage, then you should hook up another N batteries in series to parallel with the original bank.